The earliest communication between the Japanese and China was in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the history recorded: "In the second year of the Jianwu Dynasty, the Japanese slave country paid tribute to congratulate, so that people called themselves doctors, and Guangwu gave them seals. Later, this gold seal was really dug up from the ground and stored in the Fukuoka City Museum in Japan, with five clear seal characters engraved on it: "King Hanweinu." ”

"Wei" is "倭", which means short, and it is said that this name was given by Emperor Guangwu, because the other party was not much taller than the dwarf, so he gave the name. This is not that Liu Xiu is unkind, but that it was a common problem of doctors in the Central Plains at that time, and good words cannot be rewarded to barbarians casually.

The Japanese claimed to pronounce "yamato", the same as "Yamato", and later used the Chinese character "倭" to express this sound, and it was not until many years later, as if Adam and Eve had eaten an apple, that they finally discovered their sense of shame, so they replaced the character "倭" with the taller character "Yamato". Therefore, the name "Japan" was determined many years later, in the Sui and Tang dynasties of China.

The situation of the Japanese archipelago in the early Eastern Han Dynasty and the meaning of the gold seal inscription have long been debated in academic circles. It is Xun's own opinion, which should be judged as "the king of Han, Wei, and slave", that is, the king of the slave country of the Wadi to which the Han Dynasty belonged. At that time, there were more than 100 small states in the Wadi, attacking and annexing each other, among which there were slave states, which, according to Niu Lidu, still exist today - were not necessarily the largest or hegemonic like the Yamatai today, but they were just lucky, they had to cross the strait, and they were able to meet the emperor of the Han Dynasty, and thus became a king.

Since then, the Japanese have also repeatedly communicated with China. But most of them only go to the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. I didn't get the opportunity to go to Hajj. It was not until the second year of Cao Weijing's early years in the original history. The humble envoy of the queen of Yamatai, Nan Shengmi, finally arrived in Luoyang and was once again canonized by the Son of Heaven of China. The golden seal given this time has not yet been discovered by later generations, but the seal has been passed down, and it is written as "pro-Wei Wawang", which is equivalent to recognizing Queen Beimihu and her heirs as the lord of the whole Wa.

However, there is still a lot of debate in academic circles about where this Yamatai country is located in the Japanese archipelago, and it is difficult to come to a conclusion. There are two main factions, one of which is considered to be in Kitakyushu. Because this is the origin of the earliest civilization in the archipelago; The other group believes that it is the Yamato Basin in the central part of Honshu, because Yamato is Yamadai, and it is where the capital of the Kingdom of Japan is located.

The key point is that there was no writing in Japan at that time, and no matter how many ruins were dug up from the ground, you can't be sure that it was Yamatai, not other tribes, such as the slave country, the dog slave country, and so on - just like the general belief that the Erlitou culture represents the Xia Dynasty, and the problem is that if you can't find a "Xia" character, then it is difficult to make a conclusion. Therefore, the relevant ancient history of Japan has to be found from ancient Chinese books, and the most important record is in the "Three Kingdoms. WEI Shu. In the Biography of Dongyi Lie, the Book of the Later Han Dynasty was written later than the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms. The value is necessarily inferior. According to the book, check the location. The central part of Honshu is said to be incompatible at all, but if it is calculated according to the mileage counted, it can only be the central part of Honshu, and Kitakyushu is untenable.

So Ji Xun has always been interested, what is the answer to this eternal puzzle? It's just that he already has tendencies and speculations in his heart, so this time he deliberately took out the map of the archipelago drawn in advance and handed it to Niu Lidu for identification.

Shixun I was also quite interested in the ancient history of Japan, not to mention an expert, at least the official position and division of the country under the legal order system, can recite more than half of it, from the ancient royal government of Asuka and Nara to the regency politics of the Heian Dynasty, and then to the three generations of shogunates in Kamakura, Muromachi, and Edo, the basic historical context can also be clarified. Therefore, he had a general impression of the outline of the Japanese archipelago, and based on the coastline outlined by memory, I believe that even in a few hundred years, it is impossible for a real Japanese person to draw a more similar image than him.

However, he deliberately folded up the islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido, and exposed only a Kyushu island to identify Ushirito--Didn't you say that the Waji was long from north to south and short from east to west? That must not include the three big islands, it can only be Kyushu.

Therefore, it is almost certain that Yama Taipei Kyushu is right.

Immediately, Xun pretended to be furious, and drank the order to drag Niu Lidu out and beat him. Niu Li panicked, and repeatedly asked for mercy, and Liu Yi next to him didn't know what was going on, so he had to help intercede: "The minister is stupid, I don't know why the envoy deceived the public?" And it is not too late to declare his guilt, and then punish him. ”

Shi Xun sneered and shouted: "According to what you say, the Japanese side is thousands of miles, which is larger than a state in China, and it is thousands of miles away from three Koreas. There are no less than 200,000 households in 17 countries, which is also the number of one state. But no? ”

Niu Lidu said that I don't know how big a state in China is, and 200,000 households is too much or too little, so I just told the truth. Liu Yi didn't understand: "Is it an exaggeration?" ”

Shi Xun turned to Liu Yi and said that as far as I know, he really didn't exaggerate, and the size of the Japanese was twice that of the Korean Peninsula, and the 200,000 household registration was probably less than that. However, the problem is that as he spoke, he unfolded the map fold: "In this way, Fang is a widow!" ”

Angry eyes to Niu Lidu, say you answer honestly, what do you mean by the four ...... Mishima (Hokkaido was ruled by the Kingdom of Japan until much later), or is it just one island in the west? If the Wa is the three islands, and you say that Yamatai encompasses most of the Wa Kingdom, that is nonsense; If the Japanese only refer to the island of Kyushu, then there is no "2,000 miles from east to west, 4,000 miles from north to south", and the household registration will not reach 200,000. Tell me, on what issue have you deceived me?

Niu Li was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly, saying that the Japanese Kingdom really refers to a big island, and as for the size of the territory, it is estimated that the measurement scale of the two countries is different, and the interpreter directly converted the small scale of our country into the large scale of the Celestial Empire...... Shi Xun sneered: "In this way, the so-called 200,000 households, its 200,000 people? "It's all the fault of the translation, and you don't mean to deceive, do you?

Niu Li didn't dare to say yes, and he was unwilling to admit that he deliberately exaggerated, just kowtowed and didn't say a word. Shi Xun turned his head and said to Liu Yi: "Han Zhi Tsushima Kingdom, more than 100 liel, to one branch (i.e., Iki Island) is the same. If the evil dog Han is to the evil horse, but Dongmu is also to the North Korea. It's a thousand miles of clouds, is it afraid that I will go to the expedition? "The implication is that the distance is not too far, if you have the help of the East China Sea Master, you can lead the division to the expedition!

The biggest problem with Yamatai Kyushu is that it is not close to the record of the Book of Wei. Although Shi Xun was unable to recite the "Biography of Dongyi Lie", he still had a general impression that what Niu Lidu said just now was actually similar to the difference contained in the book - the specific words were slightly different, for example, it was not called "Evil Horse Tai", but "Evil Horse One", and "One Country" was also written as "a big country", perhaps it was a transliteration problem, or it was a copying error. Therefore, the mileage contained in the book is not credible at all, and it is more than 50 kilometers from the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula to Tsushima Island. One kilometer is equal to twenty miles? Which dynasty and generation in China has such a small distance?

If the number is not accurate, then all the data will not be accurate, and it is estimated that the Japanese people are pretending to make big words to deceive Cao Wei Tianzi - otherwise, how can there be a golden seal of the king mixed with a place of that size? In later generations, some people argued, saying that the Wei envoy had also entered the Wei Dynasty, and the Book of Wei should contain what the Chinese said, not what the Wei people claimed to be. But what do you think are the Tijun and Zhang Zheng who have been in the Japanese world? It's just a small county official, do you really have a clear concept of the distance and the length of miles? And just run back and forth, isn't it as far as the Japanese say, and you should walk in a straight line after a few circles?

Moreover, there are such words at the back of "The Biography of Dongyi Lie": "The queen kingdom (i.e., Yamatai) has crossed the sea for more than 1,000 miles to the east, and there are many kingdoms, all of which are of the Japanese race." There is also a dwarf country in the south of it, and the people are three or four feet long, and they go to the queen for more than 4,000 miles. There is also a bare country and a black tooth country in its southeast, and the ship can be reached in a year. Consult the Japanese land, absolutely on the island in the middle of the sea, or absolutely or connected, can be more than 5,000 miles around. ”

Since these countries are all on the "island of the sea continent", it means that the location of Yamatai is not all of the Japanese land, but other islands of different sizes. If the mileage is close to correct, and Yamadai is indeed in the middle of Honshu, then it should refer to the Izu Islands, and the dwarf country more than 4,000 miles away in the south is probably the Ogasawara Islands? Is it the Mariana Islands that the naked country and the black-toothed country in the southeast must "sail for a year"? Question: The last two places, are they inhabited here?!

If we look at Kitakyushu, the problem will be much easier to solve. Tototokuni may refer to Izumo Culture, Yamawaka in Honshu, or Shikoku Island; Either the naked country in the southeast and the black tooth country refer to the four countries; And the southern dwarf country, is a guide to the bear attack of Kyushu. The Hayato people, or the Ryukyuan people further south.

Pulling it back, it was Xun who said to Liu Yi: "Is it afraid that I will go to the expedition?" He didn't deliberately avoid people, nor did he lower his voice, so even if the Korean interpreter honestly translated to Niu Lidu, he was quite dutiful, maybe it wasn't Liu Yi's temporary assignment, it was originally the interpreter brought by Niu Lidu. Niu Lidu was not stupid, and he could hear the meaning of the words, so he was so shocked that his face was colorless, and he hurriedly pleaded: "My country is not guilty, and the ministers should also meet the emperor of Great Wei when they come, and in order to pay tribute, please don't go to the expedition." ”

Shi Xun sneered: "I am in charge of the festival, and I am fighting for the heavens, and where I am is like the Son of Heaven." Thou hast deceived me today, and do you still want the king to not recruit you? ”

Niu Li panicked, and bent down again and kowtowed three times in a row: "The villain's confession is untrue, guilty, and willing to be beaten." "All the mistakes are my fault, not my country's fault, if you want to fight me, don't attack my country!

Shi Xun pouted: "Let's take prisoner first." Immediately, he rushed over to the two tribesmen, knocked Niu Li to the ground, and dragged him out of the rope bundle. The Korean interpreter was also trembling with fright, but when he looked left and right, no one had come to arrest him, so he trembled, fell backwards on his knees, and crawled out of his own accord - even if it was a transparent person, he didn't care, as if it were a transparent person...... (To be continued......)